Andover Township to decide on fire truck purchase

ANDOVER TWP. — Andover Township Committee members said they hope to make a commitment by their next meeting, Aug. 26, to buy a new rescue truck for the fire department.

The fire department asked the committee for up to $499,000 for the new truck, less than the unofficial quote the department got recently for $512,000. The committee said it will appropriate $140,000 from a recent $360,000 settlement with PSE&G for the truck. The township and other municipalities were awarded the money, which is earmarked for public safety improvements, from PSE&G for the Susquehanna-Roseland powerlines that are cutting through the area.

The rescue truck being replaced has been in use since it was purchased new in 2000. The rescue truck carries tools like axes, the Jaws of Life and the department’s ladders, but does not have a water tank. According to Bill Gallagher of the fire department, the truck is getting worn out due to near-daily use since it is the first to respond to emergencies. It struggles to get up hills and has developed a number of “gremlins” that show it is on its last legs, Gallagher said.

“The town has to help with these kinds of things,” said Committee Member Phil Boyce, “but (the fire department has) purchased a lot of equipment through their own fundraisers without taxpayer money.”

“Most of the equipment this truck carries was purchased through fundraising,” Gallagher said.

The truck’s load has almost doubled since it was purchased, according to Gallagher.

“The equipment on this truck is needed for every call,” Gallagher said.

Fire trucks are typically the most expensive purchases for municipalities. The Andover Township Fire Department’s policy is to replace a vehicle after it gets between 15 and 18 years of service.

“We’re not sure this truck will make it to 18 years,” Gallagher said.

According to Chief Jon Steinwand, the department has another truck older than the rescue truck, which the department has decided not to try to replace until it’s over 20 years old because it’s seen less use and is in generally better condition.

Gallagher said it has long been the fire department’s plan to purchase a new truck this year; they just changed their mind on which truck they would replace.

Once the contract for the building of a new fire apparatus is awarded, most manufacturers take approximately one year to fill the order. So if the Township Committee commits to purchase the truck at its next meeting and the purchase goes to bid in September 2014, the fire department expects to have the truck sometime in 2015.

Gallagher said there is resale value to the rescue truck, but the department won’t know how much for a while, at least until they decommission the old truck to make way for the new one.

“Without replacing the truck,” Gallagher said, “we could potentially be costing people money,” referring to when there is property damage if the truck couldn’t get there fast enough.

Police Chief Gil Taglialatela also addressed the public to explain a resolution being adopted and two ordinances being introduced. The resolution was for the Info-Cop E-Ticketing hardware and software.

Taglialatela said the new ticketing system will make issuing summonses faster for police and therefore cheaper for the township. It will also guarantee summonses to be legible and filled out correctly, which will save the township in municipal court costs.

The first ordinance was to replace the telephone system used to record 9-1-1 calls in the police department. The equipment was purchased in the year 2000 and does not work anymore, according to Taglialatela. The cost of the new equipment is $15,000.

Another ordinance to authorize the purchase of two rifles for police vehicles was approved at a cost of $2,500. The township also introduced an ordinance to purchase a new dump truck for the Department of Public Works that will cost $40,000.

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In 1881, five short line regional railroads combined with the New Jersey Midland Railroad to form the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway. This new line played an important role in hauling coal out of Pennsylvania to the greater New York metropolitan